Developing Peripheral Biochemical Biomarkers of Brain Disorders: Insights from Zebrafish Models.

High prevalence of human brain disorders necessitates development of the reliable peripheral biomarkers as diagnostic and disease-monitoring tools. In addition to clinical studies, animal models markedly advance studying of non-brain abnormalities associated with brain pathogenesis. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is becoming increasingly popular as an animal model organism in translational neuroscience.

Evolutionarily conserved gene expression patterns for affective disorders revealed using cross-species brain transcriptomic analyses in humans, rats and zebrafish.

Widespread, debilitating and often treatment-resistant, depression and other stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders represent an urgent unmet biomedical and societal problem. Although animal models of these disorders are commonly used to study stress pathogenesis, they are often difficult to translate across species into valuable and meaningful clinically relevant data. To address this problem, here we utilized several cross-species/cross-taxon approaches to identify potential evolutionarily conserved differentially expressed genes and their sets.

Unconventional anxiety pharmacology in zebrafish: Drugs beyond traditional anxiogenic and anxiolytic spectra.

Anxiety is the most prevalent brain disorder and a common cause of human disability. Animal models are critical for understanding anxiety pathogenesis and its pharmacotherapy. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is increasingly utilized as a powerful model organism in anxiety research and anxiolytic drug screening.

CNS genomic profiling in the mouse chronic social stress model implicates a novel category of candidate genes integrating affective pathogenesis.

Despite high prevalence, medical impact and societal burden, anxiety, depression and other affective disorders remain poorly understood and treated. Clinical complexity and polygenic nature complicate their analyses, often revealing genetic overlap and cross-disorder heritability. However, the interplay or overlaps between disordered phenotypes can also be based on shared molecular pathways and 'crosstalk' mechanisms, which themselves may be genetically determined.

An acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, donepezil, increases anxiety and cortisol levels in adult zebrafish.

Background: A potent acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, donepezil is a cognitive enhancer clinically used to treat neurodegenerative diseases. However, its complete pharmacological profile beyond cognition remains unclear. The zebrafish () is rapidly becoming a powerful novel model organism in neuroscience and central nervous system drug screening.

Zebrafish models of impulsivity and impulse control disorders.

Impulse control disorders (ICDs) are characterized by generalized difficulty controlling emotions and behaviors. ICDs are a broad group of the central nervous system (CNS) disorders including conduct disorder, intermittent explosive, oppositional-defiant disorder, antisocial personality disorder, kleptomania, pyromania and other illnesses. Although they all share a common feature (aberrant impulsivity), their pathobiology is complex and poorly understood.

Effects of acute and chronic arecoline in adult zebrafish: Anxiolytic-like activity, elevated brain monoamines and the potential role of microglia.

Arecoline is a naturally occurring psychoactive alkaloid with partial agonism at nicotinic and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. Arecoline consumption is widespread, making it the fourth (after alcohol, nicotine and caffeine) most used substance by humans. However, the mechanisms of acute and chronic action of arecoline in-vivo remain poorly understood.

The zebrafish tail immobilization (ZTI) test as a new tool to assess stress-related behavior and a potential screen for drugs affecting despair-like states.

Background: Affective disorders, especially depression and anxiety, are highly prevalent, debilitating mental illnesses. Animal experimental models are a valuable tool in translational affective neuroscience research. A hallmark phenotype of clinical and experimental depression, the learned helplessness, has become a key target for 'behavioral despair'-based animal models of depression.

Animal inflammation-based models of depression and their application to drug discovery.

Depression, anxiety and other affective disorders are globally widespread and severely debilitating human brain diseases. Despite their high prevalence and mental health impact, affective pathogenesis is poorly understood, and often remains recurrent and resistant to treatment. The lack of efficient antidepressants and presently limited conceptual innovation necessitate novel approaches and new drug targets in the field of antidepressant therapy.